Prince George, BC – After 12-years representing constituents in Prince George, Mackenzie and points in between, Liberal Cabinet Minister, Pat Bell, found himself in watching last night’s election results without a direct stake in the outcome…

But Bell said there was no bitter with what turned out to be a sweet evening for his party.  "Not at all, I’m very happy that Mike Morris is going to be the next MLA for Prince George-Mackenzie."

"I had a wonderful 12 years in politics, I have no regrets from that," he said.  "You know, I think I accomplished a few things along the way (and) the results from Mackenzie (last night) were particularly gratifying to me, personally.  We won huge in Mackenzie."

Bell was not surprised with the Liberal’s majority victory, saying provincial poll results in the run up to yesterday just didn’t represent what was being heard on the ground.   "At the end of the day, any government that’s in power for 12-years has made some mistakes," admitted Bell.  "The public, I think (last night), has said they were prepared to take the bad with the good and that, on balance, they’re better off with a BC Liberal Government that makes sure the economy stays strong."

As for his strength, Bell said he’s doing well after announcing in mid-February he would not be running in the election after discovering he had an aneurysm.  "I’ve now had three measurements and it hasn’t grown any, which is good news at this point, so I’ll continue to have measurements every three months."

"If it gets too large, then they’ll have to operate," said the outgoing MLA.  "But it is unlikely that this will be what will ‘get me’, so Pat Bell will be around Prince George lots in the coming years."

Bell said he and his wife, Brenda, plan to remain in Prince George.  "Who knows what will be up next?  It won’t be politics."